The Elves

Charlie and I saw Santa at the mall last night. I was so excited to go over and say hello, but Charlie was hesitant. He wasn't sure if the Santa we saw was the real Santa or one of his helpers. Charlie was also was a bit worried because he thought maybe he was on the "naughty list" and Santa would recognize him. This led to a discussion about how Charlie was a good boy, and maybe he had just made some naughty choices lately, but there was still time to make improvements. As we continued to walk on and discuss, Charlie began to feel less worried about his "naughty list" predicament. About five minutes later we arrived at Dillard's where I wanted to try on some shoes. Here's what happened next:

Almost immediately after I made my selections and found a salesperson to get my shoes, Charlie pulled me down to whisper, "There's something kind of strange going on here." When I asked him what was so strange, he said, "I think these people are all Santa's elves." These people would be the Dillard's staff. "Ohhh, what makes you think so Charlie?" I asked. I think he was feeling like these elves were spies that Santa had placed in the store to watch Charlie and report back whether he was naughty or nice. "Well, did you notice that everyone here is the same height?" Good observation. "And they are all kind of skinny." Yes. "They also are walking really fast, just like elves do." It was pretty busy in the shoe department. "Their voices are a little funny too. There's definitely something weird going on." Our salesman spoke with a definite lisp and another had a foreign accent. "But one thing that tells me that they are Santa's elves is that they are ALL wearing name tags." Teehee. "Oh, and did you notice that guy's shoes?" Check the link...that's the real deal closer for me;) For the 20 minutes we spent in Dillard's Charlie was busy observing the goings on. I found a pair of boots I liked and as we were checking out, the salesman pulled something out from under the counter. He placed a Sketchers baseball hat on Charlie's head and said, "You have been such a good boy!" He also gave him a stainless steel water bottle. Charlie's jaw dropped to the floor, he got a great big smile on his face. When the salesman turned around Charlie said, "See, I told you!"

I giggled for the next half hour. This one little experience showed me how innocent my precocious little boy really is. It negated Charlie's concern about which of Santa's lists he was on. And it gave Charlie a sense of pride...someone thought he could do something right. As we were leaving the mall, Charlie was nothing but smiles and friendly. He said hello to all the store clerks we came across and thanked them for letting us look at their store. This was a little unusual for him. He even said in the car on the way home, "It feels good to be nice." That statement was HUGE coming from this little man. Being nice is contagious. I need to remember that more often when I'm having an angry interchange with my boys. Behind all of his rough edges, Charlie really is the sweetest little man.